Cooking salmons, Asian style

[hzrt8w]

My wife bought a bunch of salmon filets because they are on sale and she loves them. But it makes me scratching my head: Salmon is not a traditional meat ingredient for Chinese cooking. I tried steaming salmons the Cantonese way: with black bean/ginger, or just steamed plain then pour boiling oil on top with ginger and scallion and light soy sauce, and I tried cooking salmons with sweet and sour sauce ( 糖醋鱼 ). None of my attempts is satisfactory.

I know in Japanese cuisine, the grilled eels with soy sauce is very good. I am tempted to try that recipe by substituting eels with salmons. My wife doesn't eat raw fish, so the idea of using salmons for sushi or sashimi is out.

Has anyone used salmon in your Asian style cooking? Any suggestions on how to cook these salmons in Asian style?

[origamicrane]

hzrt8w Posted on Jul 7 2004, 11:47 PM

or just steamed plain then pour boiling oil on top with ginger and scallion and light soy sauce,

you didn't like steaming it? did you remeber to add a little sesame oil ? and thinly shred the scallion and ginger?

anyway an alternative is to pan fry the fillets in a little oil with garlic and ginger until the skin is crispy and pour on the magic mix of sesame oil, soya, scallion

if you like slice in a little bit of chilli.

but you're right salmon though salmon isn't really a preferred chinese cooking fish.

[Ben Hong]

I will agree that salmon is not the preferred fish to cook Chinese style, with the possible exception of two favourite dishes of mine, both involve salmon heads, which are generally free.

The first is that I use a couple of large salmon heads for fish stock to make jook. There is usuall a large amount of delectable meat that can be salvaged before tossing out the bones. The second was is to slather some shrimp paste, ginger and scallions on a large split head and steam it. Delicious.

Otherwise, salmon gets a pass from me, even at give away sale prices.

[stephenc]

anyway an alternative is to pan fry the fillets in a little oil with garlic and ginger until the skin is crispy and pour on the magic mix of sesame oil, soya, scallion

if you like slice in a little bit of chilli.

Cook it like this.

[Fred12fred]

I always prefer to make a teriyaki-type sauce for my salmon...I just pan fry the salmon skin side down for a few minutes then pop it into a 350 degree oven to finish cooking, then make the sauce in a separate pan using equal parts mirin and soy with sugar to taste. Simple yet tasty!

[Dejah]

I have been using salmon fillet, measuring about 5" wide and 12 inches long.

These are boneless, great for older folks

Found this recipe somewhere, and this has been the only way I have cooked salmon:

1, Make a packet with a double layer of foil ( or banana leave).

2. Lay down a layer of cilantro, green onions, sliced fresh ginger, sliced limes, sliced fresh chilis and then bruised fresh lemon grass.

3. Place the salmon on top of this...season with salt and freshly crushed peppercorns.

4. On top of the fillet, lay down the same ingredients as in step 2 in reverse order (ie. starting with lemon grass, etc)

5. Drizzle with olive oil.

6. Seal the packet and place onto BBQ grill over medium heat. As these fillets are quite thick, I usually allow 30 minutes, then check to see if it is done.

Not really Asian I suppose, but tastes great!

I like fish heads steamed with lots of black bean garlic sauce, ginger and scallions.

Hey Ben, do you like salty fish heads in tofu soup?

[hzrt8w]

you didn't like steaming it? did you remeber to add a little sesame oil ? and thinly shred the scallion and ginger?

We didn't like the taste of steamed salmons. Compared to other fish such as cod, trout, bass, the salmon meat seemed too fishy and fatty when steamed.

I never thought of cooking with shrimp paste and tofu. Worth experimenting.

Grilled salmon tastes good, that's what I ended up doing most of the times. I just wonder if others may have tasted salmon cooked in other Asian styles.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Please keep them coming.

[Jeannie]

anyway an alternative is to pan fry the fillets in a little oil with garlic and ginger until the skin is crispy and pour on the magic mix of sesame oil, soya, scallion

if you like slice in a little bit of chilli.

Cook it like this.

My mum does something similar to this. It's her attempt to make Shanghainese "smoked" fish (which isn't really smoked) but as we can't get the river fish thats used in Shanghai, she uses salmon

She usually uses a salmon cut into thin steaks (with the spine in the middle) fries them until they are slightly hard and crispy then dunk them in a sauce of spring onions, soy sauce, sugar, rice wine for a few minutes before taking them out and serving. They are very good!

The sause has to be heated/cooked not just mixed together.

She also sometimes cooks salmon head in a soupy hotpot with soysauce, spring onions, some chillis, glass noodles and feng pi (similar to glass noodles but much wider, more like sheets)

Edited July 8, 2004 by Jeannie (log)

[Ben Hong]

DEjah: Saltfish heads with tofu soup! Now you're really talking homecookin'.

[Hest88]

My mom finds salmon too "hai"---not moist enough. So, I actually make it with honey mustard for her, baked in foil. That way it's sweet enough for Chinese tastes and stays moist. I think the key is to keep it sweetish, like with Teriyaki sauce.

[jo-mel]

hz -- Have you ever tried poaching the salmon and then putting whatever sauce you wish on it?

Just put the salmon in a pot and just cover with water. I like to flavor the water with lemon and maybe some white wine. / Bring to a slow simmer. / Cover pot, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. / Then turn the heat off and let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. The fat is usually melted off.

[hzrt8w]

hz -- Have you ever tried poaching the salmon and then putting whatever sauce you wish on it?

Hi Jo-Mel! Yes I have tried poaching salmons with sauce on top. Tried black bean sauce, Chinese curry, Indian curry, sweet & sour, ginger+green-onions+oyster sauce. They just didn't quite taste as good as with other kind of meats.

For those who are interested: this is what I had tried tonight. I wanted to stay with Asian style, yet I realized salmons probably tastes better baked than steamed or poached.

BAKED SALMON WITH TERIYAKI GLAZE

Quantities of spices/sauce used were for 2 pieces of salmon filets.

Dry rub: 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp freshly grinded black pepper. Mix well in a bowl.

Have the salmon filets skin-side face down. Rub on the dry-rub mix on top of salmon filets with a dash of sesame oil. Then brush on about 1 tsp of Teriyaki sauce. Cut a few very thin slices of shallots and green-onions (the green portion only). Spread on top of salmon filets.

Bake salmon filets in oven at 300F for 15 minutes.

Prepare a basting solution: 1/2 tsp sweet dark soy sauce, 1 tsp of honey.

Bast the salmon filets with a brush. Switch from baking to broiling for 5-7 minutes.

The result was good. We both like it. More creative salmon recipes to follow.

[Laksa]

Salmon was on special on the weekend, so I bought some fillets. The recipe inspiration is nobu the cookbook's "Chilean sea bass with Nobu's black bean sauce", but substituting salmon for sea bass. On closer examination, the recipe is really Cantonese-style steamed fish with a hot oil drizzle, with a Japanese twist, e.g. the use of sake. We didn't have sake, so substitued shaoxing and cognac.

Mince some black beans with shaoxing wine into a paste and spread on the fish:

Place the fish on a plate with some cognac and into a hot steamer for 10 minutes.

Pour the liquid from the steamer onto a plate together with the fish. Heat olive and sesame oil until it smokes and drizzle on fish, garnish with chives:

I wish I had strained the steamer liquid to make it clearer, but oh well...

I felt the black bean sauce didn't match the flavour of salmon all that well, to echo what others here have written. I had to tweak the dish a little by adding some minced chillis and garlic to the sauce. That was an improvement, I felt. The cognac went surprisingly well with the salmon, however. In hindsight, I should've used more than I did.

[hzrt8w]

The cognac went surprisingly well with the salmon, however. In hindsight, I should've used more than I did.

Nice work, Laksa! (both the dish and the pictures)

Forget about the fish, would you pass that bottle of XO please?

[trillium]

Personally, I think the strong flavors of salmon stand up better to a more SE Asian treatment then a traditional southern Chinese treatment. I like to slice up the salmon filets and then stir-fry them with shallots, roasted chilli paste, lemon, holy or "Thai" basil, green peppercorns and a sprinkle of fish sauce.

regards,

trillium

[Laksa]

Personally, I think the strong flavors of salmon stand up better to a more SE Asian treatment then a traditional southern Chinese treatment.  I like to slice up the salmon filets and then stir-fry them with shallots, roasted chilli paste, lemon, holy or "Thai" basil, green peppercorns and a sprinkle of fish sauce.

regards,

trillium

How well does the salmon hold up to "rough" stir-frying? I could imagine flaky and broken pieces.

hzrt8w:

Thanks, and help yourself to the XO! The bottle has been sitting in my cabinet for over a year, only making appearances when I cook with it. I prefer to drink scotch whisky.

Edited July 22, 2004 by Laksa (log)

[tissue]

Personally, I think the strong flavors of salmon stand up better to a more SE Asian treatment then a traditional southern Chinese treatment. I like to slice up the salmon filets and then stir-fry them with shallots, roasted chilli paste, lemon, holy or "Thai" basil, green peppercorns and a sprinkle of fish sauce.

regards,

trillium

I've had salmon marinated in green curry and then grilled. It was delicious.

One of my favorite ways of eating salmon is to flake the cooked salmon and top it on rice with ikura, salmon eggs, sprinkled with some nori.

[trillium]

How well does the salmon hold up to "rough" stir-frying? I could imagine flaky and broken pieces.

Well, I don't know. I cut the salmon into pieces somewhere around 1/3 of an inch thick in the opposite direction of the flakes and do the flipping kind of stir-fry with two spatulas. It cooks so quickly you don't need to do much handling. Some of it does break, but I use those wide tail pieces (no bones!) so some broken doesn't hurt. I also leave the skin on. It tastes so good I've never worried much about the broken pieces. Also, I never use farmed salmon, which seems softer.

regards,

trillium

[Tepee]

I'm just about to make some salmon fish cakes, with ingredients being potatoes, bread crumbs, crystallised ginger, kaffir lime leaves (a must!) very finely sliced, lemon juice, egg yolk, some sweet chilli sauce. After forming them into cakes, I either dip it into egg and roll in breadcrumbs or press thinly-sliced almonds all over. I prefer to bake them flipping them over after 10 minutes, rather than fry them. Don't like my food too oily.

Edited July 23, 2004 by TP(M'sia) (log)

[hzrt8w]

I'm just about to make some salmon fish cakes, with ingredients being potatoes, bread crumbs, crystallised ginger, kaffir lime leaves (a must!) very finely sliced, lemon juice, egg yolk, some sweet chilli sauce.

Interesting recipe. What is "crystallized ginger". Is it the same as ginger powder or something else? How do they sell this? (In a jar? Plastic bag? Box?)

Do you grind the salmon meat?

[Pan]

Crystallized ginger (Disclaimer: I haven't tried this recipe out.)

[Tepee]

Interesting recipe. What is "crystallized ginger". Is it the same as ginger powder or something else? How do they sell this? (In a jar? Plastic bag? Box?)

Do you grind the salmon meat?

Ever since I discovered it on a trip to Gold Coast, Australia, I always get friends who are coming home to get a couple of packets for me. Here you go, Buderim crystallised ginger. Oh, we can get crystallised ginger here as well, but not as fine as Buderim's. Love that stuff.

And I steam the salmon first, then debone and flake them.

Latest: I've run out of bread crumbs...made the patties already and put them in the freezer. Ah, I left out another ingredient....shallots fried to fragrant. And I added some thick coconut cream to my mash today. I think I'll cover them in finely crushed cornflakes before baking them tomorrow for a potluck dinner.